Sources of oceanic and volcanic heat melting a subglacial channel in Kamb Ice Stream, West Antarctica

Sources of oceanic and volcanic heat melting a subglacial channel in Kamb Ice Stream, West Antarctica | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Sources of oceanic and volcanic heat melting a subglacial channel in Kamb Ice Stream, West Antarctica Peter Washam, Britney Schmidt, Brice Loose, Huw Horgan, Craig Stewart, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8318360/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Melting from oceanic heat and basal lubrication from subglacial freshwater are fundamental elements of West Antarctic Ice Sheet mass balance that are poorly constrained. The ice streams feeding the Ross Ice Shelf grounding line periodically start and stall over decadal to century timescales due to shifts in these forcings. Here, we present in situ hydrographic measurements, noble gas abundances, and helium isotope ratios from a large subglacial channel melted into the base of stagnant Kamb Ice Stream. These data identify an outflowing plume containing subglacial freshwater admixture from upstream volcanic activity and anomalously warm inflowing seawater containing Circumpolar Deep Water from the Ross Sea, with oceanic heat delivery outpacing that from volcanism. Our results directly quantify both variables that affect the mass balance of the Ross Ice Shelf’s sensitive interconnected ice streams and highlight the vulnerability of this region of West Antarctica to increased forcing from a warming climate. Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Cryospheric science Earth and environmental sciences/Ocean sciences/Physical oceanography Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files WashamNatureCommssupplement.pdf Sources of oceanic and volcanic heat melting a subglacial channel in Kamb Ice Stream, West Antarctica Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8318360","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":560505229,"identity":"53a5758c-97b3-4c76-b216-49595bb526af","order_by":0,"name":"Peter 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